Scary can be serene, arty can be commercial, and sci-fi can pack a strong emotional punch too.

Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity proves all of the above antitheses can be true in cinema, serving up one of the best films you will watch this year.

Gravity is already being compared with Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, considered by many the greatest sci-fi ever made. Cuaron, filmmaker with finesse best recalled for Y Tu Mama Tambien, Pan's Labyrinth and Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, makes discomfort a palatable dish with his latest as he accounts the nerve-wracking tale of two astronauts left afloat in space after a mission goes bust.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are cast as the protagonists. Bullock plays bio-medical engineer Ryan Stone, on a space mission headed by Clooney's senior astronaut Matt Kowalski. They are on a spacewalk when debris from an anti-satellite test sets off a chain reaction that destroys their shuttle killing the crew inside. They are left stranded in open space.

What follows could broadly seem familiar template of any survival movie. Castaway, Open Water, 127 Hours or Buried could vaguely come to mind, except that Gravity explores the genre in infinite space where the only human connect is transmitted as voices on radio from Earth but where human rescue seems impossible. Cuaron's creativity comes alive in the way he uses the eerie calm of space to heighten tension. It takes fear factor to another level.

The idea of filming Gravity in 3D is more than a mere gimmick. This film reveals imaginative use of the technology to elevate its thriller quotient, duly propped by the most stunning sci-fi camerawork you would have seen in a long time.

But Gravity's absorbing bit is not about its suspense or tech-specs. It lies in the sheer emotional core that Cuaron imparts to his tale. The bond shared by two astronauts stranded in space and talking to each other only on radio can be tough to bring alive. Cuaron's starkness in capturing the emotions in their voices and faces creates an impact.

This is not strictly a film about acting honours but Clooney and Bullock add heavy-duty value to the film and leave lasting impression with their roles.

Gravity is a film that reminds you what the magic of the movies is all about. It makes you fall in love with cinema all over again.